Sheffield Wednesday: Building from the front

Sheffield Wednesday have the foundations for success

Carlos Carvalhal will attempt to get Sheffield Wednesday out of the Championship and back to the Premier League at the third time of asking. Two questions need to be answered ahead of Wednesday’s promotion challenge;

Can Carlos Carvalhal get the very best out of his talented strikers and is he willing to be more consistent with his team selection?

Carvalhal has four quality strikers at his disposal; Jordan Rhodes, Gary Hooper, Steven Fletcher and Sam Winnall. The foundations for a promotion challenge back to the Premier League are there, especially if you add Fernando Forestieri into the mix. Furthermore Wednesday have another attacking option in youngster George Hirst, son of club legend David. A talented striker, Hirst Jnr. has just had an impressive season. Hirst Jnr. scored 40 goals in 57 appearances (@WednesdayYouth) for Sheffield Wednesday U23/U18s and England U20/U18s respectively, whether or not Hirst’s future lies with the club is another matter.

Carvalhal may seek to sign a couple of players with pace and the ability to find that killer pass. After his arrival from Middlesbrough, winger Adam Reach divided opinion amongst fans . At times Reach showed glimpses of quality, he created and scored goals but overall there was a lack of consistency in his performances. It’s fair to suggest that Carvalhal needs to find a more consistent tactical approach, one that gets the best out of Rhodes et al. Prolific at this level, Rhodes looked a shadow of himself towards the latter stages of the 2016/17 campaign. Wednesday ought to be setting their talisman a target of 20 plus goals ahead of the new season.

At this point in time there’s little point in speculating on new acquisitions, but Wednesday owner Depjhon Chansiri is an ambitious man. Don’t be surprised to see The Owls maximising the use of their resources, but as the saying goes less is often more.

Aston Villa are the bookies early favourites for promotion (oddschecker). Carvalhal won’t mind that one bit, and neither will the Wednesday faithful, especially if the club state their ambitions in the transfer market. Wednesday’s gaffer has another opportunity to build a side capable of gaining promotion from the front, but finding the other ingredients will be the challenge. Whether or not they can execute a solid promotion challenge is another matter.